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Mar 8, 2017

Incentivizing Sustainable Natural Resources Use Through PES

Payment for Environmental Services (PES) is a mechanism used to incentivize the preservation and sustainable use of ecosystem services such as freshwater provision, carbon sequestration, and ecotourism. PES connects the downstream beneficiaries of ecosystem services (communities, businesses, or public bodies) with its upstream providers through direct payments, creating a win-win outcome for both conservation and improved livelihoods.

In 2016, LESTARI created a toolkit to rapidly assess the feasibility of implementing PES schemes in Indonesia that would help non-experts who are considering developing PES as method of conserving forest and benefiting communities. The toolkit was launched in Jayapura, Papua on February 23, 2017 with over 40 participants from a diverse range of stakeholders. The local government along with the local water company and an indigenous group have taken initial steps to develop a PES scheme in the buffer zone of Cyclops Nature Reserve. Crucially, these buffer zone communities, as well as the large population centers in Jayapura and Sentani, depend on Cyclops’ forests for their water supply.

During the event, the participants were enthusiastic about using the toolkit as a guide to develop their scheme as it provides clarity and structure to assessing the practicalities of developing a PES process. Both the local government and the indigenous group requested support from LESTARI for PES, and the toolkit will be piloted in the area to assess PES idea feasibility in 2017.

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